The first Metro baby arrives at Central Secretariat station

The Delhi Metro achieved a rare feat on Sunday morning when a 27-year-old woman successfully gave birth to a baby girl while travelling in one of its trains.

The mother, Juli Devi, went into labour near Jangpura station and gave birth to the baby girl at 7.28 am when the train was approaching the Central Secretariat Metro station.

Fellow women passengers helped Juli, who was accompanied by her husband Ranjeet Rai, gave birth safely.

The woman went into labour at Jangpura metro station

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), too, acted promptly and the mother and baby were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital within minutes of giving birth. Juli and her husband, from Faridabad, were on their way to Safdarjung hospital for a check-up.

'We were consulting a doctor in Sector 31, Faridabad. The doctor said the baby was due on July 30. We contacted the doctor as Juli was complaining of severe pain but the doctor said she is medically fine and will deliver the child only after next week,' Ranjeet said. He is a paan vendor outside the Hauz Khas Metro station and Juli is a housemaker.

The couple hail from Darbhanga in Bihar. 'Juli was experiencing intermittent pain and so we thought of taking a second opinion on her condition. We were going to Safdurjung hospital for consultation. Juli complained of labour pain near Jangpura station and within minutes the baby was delivered with the help of local women in the train,' Rai said.

'This is our first child. I got really scared when Juli went into labour,' he added. The train's staff immediately informed the nearest RML Hospital where both the mother and the baby were admitted.

The Metro authorities called an ambulance and took care of all other necessary formalities at the hospital. 'The baby girl was brought in the morning and she is healthy. She weighs around 3.6 kg, which is normal.

She will be discharged soon,' a doctor at the hospital said. Initially, non-availability of a nursery for the baby was a cause of concern at the hospital. However, the Metro staff immediately contacted the hospital authorities and sought their co-operation in admitting the baby.

'The hospital authorities also went out of their way to provide all the required support. DMRC has tie-ups with ambulance services across the city as part of which they provide vehicles and assistance to commuters in case of an emergency,' Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.

'The time factor was really important as it was a sensitive matter. The metro staff didn't waste a single second in reacting and saving the mother and the baby,' he said.

Delhi Metro chief Mangu Singh has announced that the medical expenses of the family incurred at the hospital will be taken care of by the corporation.

Two station manager-level women employees of DMRC have been deputed at the hospital since morning to take care of the mother and the baby as no women family member had reached the hospital till the filing of this report.